DIVING NEWS
Divers spot one-of-a-kind shellfish
Picture: Nick Owen.
Scuba divers from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) have found the only known living example in Wales of a fan shell called Atrina fragilis. They came across it while monitoring the condition of a large seagrass bed in Milford Haven estuary.
The fan shell is one of the largest shellfish in Britain, growing to more than 45cm long, but is one of the UK’s most threatened molluscs. The last example observed in Welsh waters was in the 1960s.
12 October 2018
The species provides a point of attachment for many other marine organisms, says NRW, creating reef-like micro-habitats in the sediments in which they live.
“We were surprised and pleased to find the fan shell,” said NRW Marine Team Leader Mike Camplin.
“Targeted searches had previously only uncovered a few broken shells. Although fan shells can grow quite large and lie mostly buried in the seabed, they are very susceptible to physical damage, particularly from mobile fishing-gear, anchors and mooring chains.
“This shellfish was found in the Pembrokeshire Marine Special Area of Conservation and measures to reduce anchoring and mooring activity around the seagrass bed will help promote recovery of the local fan-shell population.
“Our divers will carry on monitoring the water and wildlife in Milford Haven so that we can learn more about the area’s marine wildlife and how to protect it in the future.
“We monitor seagrass at sites across Wales. It is an important part of our marine eco-system and acts as a nursery for fish like sea bass and cod; it also produces oxygen.”
